Earth Ritual 1972

Curator: Joe Tilson's "Earth Ritual," residing in the Tate collection, immediately strikes me as a fragmented narrative, almost like visual archaeology. Editor: The raw, primal figures certainly create a mood of ancient rites, but I see something more unsettling, a colonial gaze dissecting indigenous cultures. Curator: Note the recurring spiral motif—a potent symbol across cultures, representing growth, evolution, the journey of life. It could be Tilson is after something more universal. Editor: But who gets to define that universality? Those figures at the bottom, seemingly documented by flash photography, feel extracted, studied, rather than celebrated. Curator: Perhaps he's suggesting that these rituals, though ancient, are still being interpreted—and sometimes misinterpreted—through a modern lens. Editor: That tension between reverence and appropriation feels crucial. I leave still grappling with the ethics of representation inherent in this piece. Curator: Ultimately, Tilson’s layering of symbols serves as a starting point for pondering enduring human connections and the power of shared cultural practices.